Before I start.
HAPPY NEWYEAR EVERYONE!
Unfortunately it's still October 5th in the story.
7. Fighting Zapdos
That night, the moon decided to take a rest, and so did the uncountable number of stars.
The clouds draped the dark sky, making it darker. The leaves hung down, as if in shame, as the rain pulled them down. The soil was damp, puddles of water formed everywhere. Pokémon hid themselves inside the tree hollows, or under the shade of the thick branches.
The sky rumbled, a blue lightning flashed the darkness for a second. The bird Pokémon scattered away in fear, but returned back as soon as the sense of danger seemed to pass away. They simply couldn't fly away because one of their kind was suffering.
The Pidgey and Pidgeotto that watched the scene with timid eyes were perched around the clearing, some on the branches of the trees, while a few brave on the grass, from where they were closer to their leader.
Two humans, men whom they normally fear, were tending to the leader. The downpour continued, but they didn't budge. When they finally did, they hoisted the leader on their backs and carried him somewhere.
The Pidgey and Pidgeotto couldn't know what was going on, but they decided to trust them and followed the men, towards their civilization.
October 5
Countdown 361:18:03:59
"Ash?"
A soft tap on my shoulders woke me up.
I opened my eyes, only to set my sights on a familiar Bird Pokémon behind the glass window that separated the room in which the Pokémon lay, and the lobby where I dozed off.
"Man," the headache returns. I had only two hours of sleep yesterday, so I needed to sleep a bit more today, but it seems my dad didn't have the same idea.
"What time, is it?" I asked, noticing that the sky outside was still dim.
The lobby was empty, except for me and dad. We could have taken a room upstairs, but I decided to keep an eye on Pidgeot. I wasn't sure at first, but Pikachu confirmed it for me last night.
"Almost six," Dad informed in a mellow voice. Yelling in a Pokémon center happens to be a bad idea, especially in the mornings.
I looked at the Pidgeot, my Pidgeot, sleeping peacefully. His wings were burned last night, but he seems to be okay now. The Nurse told he would need a twelve hour rest, so I guess we need to wait a couple of hours. For now, I think it's better to leave him alone.
"Last night," Dad said, as I washed my face in the center's washroom. He stood behind me, as I saw through the reflection in the mirror. He was way too taller than I was, and his muscles were perfectly built. I looked more like a Pikachu in front of a Raichu. Speaking of which, where's my little guy?
"Yeah, last night?" I sensed he was hesitating to ask something.
"The way you reacted to the Pidgeot's condition," he stared straight into my eyes. "It was as if it's your own Pokémon."
"I didn't tell you last night?" I wiped my face with the towel he handed, and said casually, "That's my Pidgeot; I left him for a while in the wild. It's kinda weird to meet him like this after all these days."
Wiping my face clean, I handed the towel back to him. But for some reason my dad didn't extend his arms to take it. I looked at his face and met up with an expression that was almost colorless.
"Dad?" A sense of doom suddenly prevailed through my mind.
A few minutes later.
"Oww," my head hurts. Not because of the headache caused by sleep deprivation, but thanks to the knuckles of a certain man who somehow became my dad.
"When were you planning to tell me all this?" He scolded, as we headed out of the Pokémon Center for my morning training session.
"I'm sorry, I thought I could call them back before the League," I gave him a vague reply. The truth was, I hardly thought of anything in that angle.
"Are you an idiot?" A fist, as hard as an iron bar struck my head. The impact was good enough to give me a concussion. But as it was the second one, I stood somehow. "Your Pokémon might be strong, but you can't do anything if you're out of sync."
"I get it," I sighed, rubbing my sore head. "I told you, I'll call them all once I rotate the Pokémon I have on my hand."
"You better would," he sent me a glare that sent a chill down my spine. "You don't want me to do it, do you?"
"No," I muttered weakly.
Rosenburg.
A city that was once a mere village, a city that was said to be the heart of maniacs who trained years and years just for the champion's league, a city where the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia was currently in, sitting in the courtyard of her costly villa, having a chat with a man whose beard was as long as her hair, and white enough to outrank Santa Claus.
"The report on Tobias has come," The old man Goodsho, handed the blonde woman a file.
The blonde woman took up the blue file, and flipped the page with her slender fingers, studying it seriously with her light gray eyes.
"Hmm," she raised an eyebrow, in surprise.
"He's clean," Goodsho muttered as she went through the pages. "All those catches were legitimate. He's quite a person."
Cynthia put the file back onto the table. "I should have battled him by now," she muttered. "I am glad I didn't before the ten years ended. If I were to lose…"
"Is he that good?" Goodsho asked, "He barely beat Flint, and you had Flint down by 3-0."
"It's true but," she pointed to the file, "His sixth Pokémon. No one managed to scratch it, let alone defeat it. What if it's strong enough to beat all my three and close the gap between us?"
"No Pokémon can be that strong, Cynthia," Goodsho smiled. "You're being paranoid," the old man laughed.
'Am I?' Cynthia asked herself. She didn't know the answer.
"Tauros, Fire Blast!"
The wild bull flared its nostrils, exhaling the air out as it rubbed its hooves against the ground. Normally, it was an ordinary movement for a Tauros, but the air it exerted out had actually transformed into flames that extended in five directions from the origin.
With all the power in its lungs, it pushed the fire blast forward at the target in front.
The flames scorched the ground as they shot for the target at a distance.
"Buizel, Water Pulse!"
The weasel Pokémon that possessed an orange fur prepared the ball of energy in its hands, and tossed it at the approaching flames.
The flames surprisingly gave a harder fight, and consumed the water, as steam slowly enveloped the field.
The flames, however, were finally extinguished, and the sphere proceeded to strike Tauros straight on the head. The Pokémon took the attack that was more like a tennis ball.
It shook its head, and mooed at Buizel, as if to say the attack did nothing. The damage was mostly nullified.
"Awesome job!" I exclaimed as I lunged towards Tauros, pulling ourselves in a hug. "You mastered it in no time!"
It was really a wonderful feat. Fire Blast wasn't an easy move to master, even for fire-types. But Dad did say something about compatibility. Tauros continuously generates heat inside its body and that makes it easier to use Fire Blast. It's really complicated, but I kinda managed to figure something out of that.
"Now Tauros can actually have realistic chances against that Torterra of Paul's," Dad sat by the bench under the tree, watching us train.
Yeah, but that's just not it. It also happens to work in tough situations where Tauros's usual battle style of attacking head on fails.
"Now," he said getting up. "Let's move onto Unefezant."
Unefezant chirped as she landed before me. "It's quite enthusiastic," Dad smiled watching the bird Pokémon's eagerness. "Now," he said turning to me, "The first and foremost thing," he emphasized. "I would like to—"
"Ash," a voice interrupted Dad. It was the Nurse, standing by the large door connecting the Center and the field. There was an uncomfortable expression on her face, as she seemed to hold the door with difficulty. Both Dad and I threw her inquisitive looks. The Nurse laughed nervously, "Someone's too eager to see—"
Her words were cut short when the nurse in pink was pushed away, as the door paved open, and a giant creature lunged at me.
"Yeoww," I yelled in surprise, as the large Pokémon knocked me with ease, and started smothering with what seemed like a hug with its feathery wings. The feathers tickled, causing me to laugh. "Hey Pidgeot," I chortled, "It's great seeing you too."
"Pidgeooot," he rubbed his mane against my face and chirped happily.
"I love you too," I said pushing him, to give myself some air. Dusting my pants, I rose up, "It's been too long buddy. Way too long," I said brushing his head. Pidgeot's head was really smooth.
"Pika Pikachu," Pikachu cooed in agreement. Pidgeot turned to Pikachu and chirped a greeting. He then looked around, noticing that there were more Pokémon around.
"Meet my new friends," I began introducing. "I've caught them from many regions." I pointed at the two Pokémon resting beside the bench where Dad was earlier. "Boldore, Gible." I moved onto the ones on the battlefield with me. "Buizel and I guess you know Tauros a bit. And finally—"
Before I could complete my statement, Pidgeot walked up to Unefezant. He's perhaps interested in a fellow bird Pokémon. "That's Unefezant," I said.
Pidgeot chirped something to Unefezant with a smile. I thought they were exchanging some pleasantries but—
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed for something I couldn't understand. At the same point Unefezant put an expression indicating a surprise as well. Then something unexpected happened which surprised me too.
Unefezant lifted her right wing and smacked right on Pidgeot's face. She then flew away as Pidgeot watched her with open jaws—or should I say beak?
"What the heck happened?" I asked, befuddled.
For some reason Dad laughed, "Your Pidgeot wants to play boyfriend with your Unefezant."
That's—
Oh man. I'm not really good at this stuff, but he just got rejected. Pidgeot hung his head down in disappointment. What should I be saying at times like this?
"You're too brave to put out things like that," Dad commended Pidgeot. "But you need to learn how to handle chicks," Pidgeot nodded weakly and looked at the distant branch on which Unefezant perched, a frown on her face. "Love at first sight, huh," Dad muttered, as if it were something magical.
"What do we do now?" I asked, unsure if I would be allowed to spend some time with Pidgeot.
"Well," Dad said, "I guess it's only fair to—" His words were stopped when a small trickle of a raindrop ran down his face.
The rumblings in the skies returned, the day turned dimmer, and the black clouds enveloped the blue morning sky, all of a sudden.
The sky rumbled once more, as the droplets began to intensify. Soon it was raining cats and dogs. I immediately took Gible and Boldore into the Pokéball. I proceeded to do the same for Tauros. Buizel would prefer outside so—
"Hey Unefezant," I said lifting its Pokéball, signaling her to return.
"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot glared at me for that.
"Pikapi," Pikachu tugged my legs.
"Ash," My Dad shook his head as if I were a hopeless case. "You really don't get it do you?"
Huh? The only thing I am getting was, "We're gonna be drenched." Cold wasn't something I liked, or as a matter of fact, anyone.
"Idiot!" He smacked me. "Trivial things like rain shouldn't stop love." So that's what all this was about?
"Alright," I accepted. "Unefezant will stay outside for some time." For some reason, Unefezant threw me a disapproving look from a distance.
But then—
Out of blue, a powerful yellow lightning struck the ground near us. The sudden explosion on the ground threw us all away.
I felt the hard surface of the field hit my back. It wasn't a major injury. I pulled myself up, staring at the sky, which seemed to be the source. "What the heck happened?"
Instantly the flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto that have been hiding in the trees came out chirping simultaneously creating a minor uproar.
Pidgeot growled and glared at the sky in anger. Something was odd, and Pidgeot seems to have an idea about it. "What's going on, Pidgeot?"
Pidgeot cried once more and lunged into the sky. In a whiff, it was beyond our eyesight.
"Pidgeot!" I yelled, attempting to stop the Pokémon.
"Something's wrong, Ash," Dad said, a serious frown on his face.
"It's that Zapdos," the Nurse who was standing behind us replied. Her face showed that she was deeply worried, "Those poachers have injured it. It's been attacking the Viridian forest since three days."
Fear swept through Dad's eyes. "Ash, if it's a Zapdos…" He gave me a warning look. "Your Pidgeot may get far worse treatment than yesterday."
I should've guessed it. Pidgeot's injuries were obviously because of the Zapdos.
"Leave it to me," I said. "Unefezant," I called out the bird Pokémon that seemed to be alerted by the powerful lightning as well. I then turned to Pikachu and said, "Buddy go and help Pidgeot with the fight."
Pikachu hopped onto Unefezant, and together they followed the same direction Pidgeot took off.
"There's something important I want to say," Nurse Joy said as both Dad and I decided to follow them on the road. "These poachers are still in Viridian. Zapdos could mistake you with them. You better be careful."
"Listen to her, Ash," Dad cut me off before I could say anything. He knows what's in my mind. "We must approach it with caution."
I nodded, "Buizel," I told the water type. "Let's go." The Pokémon nodded at this.
Up in the air, a Pokémon was rocketing into the sky at a supersonic speed. It was Pidgeot's quick attack.
The legendary Zapdos was in the sky, at a distance, unaware of anything and continued to thunderbolt everything that it set its eyes on and deemed to be dangerous.
The legendary Pokémon only took a last second glance, as the super-fast attack zoomed past it, not failing to smack Zapdos in the process.
Pidgeot let out a threatening cry as it stood face to face with an intimidating Zapdos that was larger than the big sized Pidgeot.
Zapdos roared in response, and aimed a thunderbolt on Pidgeot. But the bird Pokémon ducked to the side. The hostilities between the Pokémon grew with that exchange, and Pidgeot immediately dashed at Zapdos, this time striking on its chest.
However its previous experience from the day before taught Pidgeot not to stay close. It immediately took a turn and flew back to go back to a safe distance.
The furious Zapdos, grew even angrier by the hit and run tactic. The Pokémon's pointy feathers flashed with electricity, and a powerful Multiple Thunderbolt was launched at once.
Noticing the approaching danger, the Pidgeot raised its speed, and continued the Quick Attack, this time to retreat. It was a futile attempt to 'run away' from a lightning, having realized this in less than a second, Pidgeot threw itself towards the ground, effectively dodging the attack while facing upwards and then took an immediate U-Turn in the air and leveled itself with Zapdos once again.
Once they were in level, Pidgeot flapped its wings once, raising a small wind, but the Pokémon repeated the motion, the vigorousness in the flaps grew pretty quickly, and proportionately the small wind slowly grew into a turbulent wind and then finally transformed into a midair Hurricane.
The six foot legendary had to use its wings to brace itself from the incoming attack, which was only powered up by the rain. The hurricane proved harsh to the electric type, and threw it off balance.
Crying with victory, Pidgeot took a dive and dashed for Zapdos with yet another Quick Attack.
The Pokémon however pulled itself straight up just as Pidgeot shot towards it and dodged the attack by pushing itself up and immediately used the chance to catch the Pidgeot that zoomed past it, with enormous talons that could lift a truck, if needed.
It then kicked Pidgeot into a distance, and prepared to strike the departing Pokémon with a powerful and a single Thunder.
The lightning moved down like a missile launched from the air, except with incredible speed. The attack would have put Pidgeot out of order, if it had hit. It didn't.
A certain yellow rodent dropped in the path of the attack, just in time. The dynamic power of the attack pushed the rodent back, but it had completely absorbed the electricity before doing so. Unefezant caught the rodent just in time.
Noticing the new threat, the enraged Zapdos prepared another Multiple Thunderbolt. Seven thunderbolts shot for the duo; however the female bird was more than skilled enough to dodge the aerial attacks with ease.
Emerging through the line of thunderbolts, Unefezant propped itself above Zapdos, but the legendary bird, with speed unexpected from such a giant, followed her up and appeared right before Unefezant, startling the bird Pokémon.
Having the smaller bird at point blank, Zapdos charged for another Thunder, as Unefezant pushed itself back in fear.
Sensing the danger, Pikachu jumped forward, placing itself between Unefezant and Zapdos in the air, and performed a power-upped Thunderbolt, power-upped by taking Zapdos's Thunder earlier.
The two attacks collided in midair, causing an instantaneous explosion.
Before the smoke could clear, Unefezant dove for catching Pikachu falling down after the attack.
Much to the bird's surprise, the monstrous legendary, whether it was sheer coincidence, or quick thinking dove down at the same time and put itself on level with Unefezant.
The blackbird panicked, unable to decide what to do. Pikachu was in danger, but so was she. Using the momentary dilemma, Zapdos prepared a thunderbolt to strike the bird but—
Like the hero he wanted to be, like the cool guy who comes in the last minute and save the day, Pidgeot rocketed towards Zapdos, and struck the bird with a Quick Attack. Then, he took a steep turn and dove down again and caught the falling Pikachu. Completing this heroic feat, he turned to Unefezant and gave her a small cheeky smile that a bird could muster.
Unefezant however pretended not to notice, but her eyes didn't carry the same hostility. Pidgeot realized he might get lucky today.
The Zapdos, however, was far from going down. It was heavily damaged from some previous fight the birds didn't know, but it could still put a good fight. As if to say that the bird let out a thunderous cry.
Its voice cackled like electricity, and carried a beastly tone of authority in it. 'Don't mess with me' was the kind of tone with which it cried.
Fate however, didn't have good plans for the legendary. Something flashy struck Zapdos, and exploded on the Pokémon's wings. The legendary bird let out a cry of pain, sending a chill down everyone else's spine.
Like a crashing plane, or a copter, Zapdos fell into the dense trees of Viridian Forest, its right wing severely bruised.
"Arceus!" Dad exclaimed, as the sparkling Zapdos crashed into the forest. Was that a bazooka? That wasn't good at all.
Someone attacked Zapdos, and was trying to capture it. If we don't hurry—
"To the forest!" I shouted, pacing up.
Dad's footsteps paced up behind me. Soon we were back in Viridian Forest, chasing for the location where Zapdos landed.
Viridian forest was a natural maze, no sooner did we enter into the array of trees we were lost. But the relentless sprint didn't stop. We had a good idea of where Zapdos landed.
Our hunch was correct. As we passed through the dense trees, and made it into a clearing, a powerful sparkling in the sky attracted our attention. It was certainly Zapdos.
I exchanged a glance with Dad, and nodded. We were getting close or so we thought but—
At the same time, two men wearing strange gray suits came in the same direction.
A moment of silence stood between us.
The two men reminded me of Hunter J and her minions. They carried the same cold looks. One of them had his face ridden with scars, and he looked like he wouldn't think twice to harm me if I try to stop him. The other looked equally ferocious. Their eyes reminded me of savage beasts reeking with greed. There was no doubt about it. These people happen to be those poachers Nurse Joy mentioned.
"Buizel," I prepped the water-type before us. The rain boosted Buizel's confidence, he didn't think twice before placing itself against the poachers.
"Tyranitar," one of the poachers casually tossed his Pokéball. The Godzilla Pokémon let out a beastly cry, as it set its eyes on Buizel, eyes that were brutal and carried a murderous intent.
"Petty trainers," the guy with the scars scoffed. "You guys should learn not to mess with certain people."
"Enough with the theatrical dialogues," Dad replied, just as condescendingly.
"Well then," the man said with a venomous anger in his voice. "Tyranitar," he pointed at Buizel. "Crunch it!"
The dark Pokémon, despite its beastly frame, sprinted like a nimble Treecko, opening its jaws to crunch the weasel Pokémon.
"Aqua Jet!"
Buizel let out its signature 'Bui' as water shrouded the Pokémon. Like a torpedo, it blasted its way towards the tyrannous Pokémon. The speed powered by Swift Swim from the rain, was beyond comprehensible.
The Pokémon that wide opened its jaws for a crunch, got the air knocked out when the powerful attack knocked it on its chest, like a spear. The enormous Pokémon stepped back in pain, and prepared to slash the weasel Pokémon with its claws, but the water type ducked underneath the attack and distanced itself.
The poacher scowled at the turn of events. "I'm not going to let you lose to a pipsqueak. So…" he smiled for once, before turning it into a glare, "Stone edge!"
The stones formed a double circular array around Tyranitar, around which they orbited. The stones then were collected at one spot, and shot one after the other like bullets from a machine gun.
"Counter it with Water Pulse!"
Buizel prepared a sphere of water, the size of a football and smashed it against the ground. The sphere of water hit the surface, and exploded into a wave. The wave powered by the rain grew strong enough to knock the branches of the trees around.
The projectiles struck the wave one after the other, none succeeding in breaking the water surge; instead all the stones were repelled. The wave then proceeded to crash on the Tyranitar, drenching the monster.
"Damn you!" The poacher stomped the moist ground.
"Water type moves are powered by the rain," Dad relayed. "You guys don't stand a chance, even with that behemoth."
Tyranitar growled back, as if it wanted to disagree with Dad. "Rain or not, we'll destroy you with this!"
The lost confidence in the trainer and Pokémon returned. Tyranitar stretched its muscles, and let a roar. The tyrannous Pokémon opened its jaws and—
"Hyperbeam!" The trainer commanded.
He's desperate; he wants to beat us badly. Then in that case let's use a power-upped—
"Water Gun!"
In response to Tyranitar's open jaws, that slowly collected the energy, Buizel took a deep breath that inflated its floatation sacs, and used the water gun. At the same time Tyranitar let out a powerful orange beam.
"Ash—!" Dad protested something but was cut off when the two attacks struck each other.
The orange beam of domination, blasted through its way towards Buizel, which stopped it with the water-type move.
A struggle ensued between the two attacks, but Tyranitar's Hyperbeam proved to be dominating, and pushed the water gun back.
But that shouldn't happen. I thought a power-upped attack could stop…
"Idiot!" Dad yelled from behind, as Hyperbeam slowly crept towards Buizel. "It's a freaking Hyperbeam. How the heck do you—"
"Buizel put more power into your attack!" I don't have time to listen to Dad's rants. I made a mistake, but that doesn't mean I'll lose.
Buizel attempted to put more power, but it was counterproductive. The Hyperbeam pushed itself in a sudden rush and almost impaled Buizel. There was in fact almost zero distance between Hyperbeam and Buizel.
"Buizel!" I tried to hide my panic, not sure how well I did so. "You can do it," I encouraged him meaninglessly. It was a desperate encouragement, but nothing says it won't work. "We have the rain to our advantage. Just put more power into it. You can do it, no matter what!"
The last yell seemed to push Buizel's spirit, because the water gun that was being utterly dominated slowly pushed back the Hyperbeam. But that wasn't the end of it. The thin streak of water gun was reinforced by a thicker stream of water. The stream only grew larger and larger, and finally grew large enough to push back Hyperbeam completely.
The powerful water type move which I think was no longer a water gun utterly dominated Hyperbeam and struck Tyranitar square on the chest. The Pokémon didn't squirm any more than necessary before falling to its right.
"Was that—?" I looked at Buizel in anticipation, wondering if what I saw was real or not.
"It's Hydro Pump!" Dad exclaimed, slapping on my back. "We're definitely lucky today."
That wasn't luck. It was Buizel's determination to not lose.
I threw my smirk at the startled poachers. "What do you think? Isn't my Pokémon super strong?"
The poacher bit his lip, but his companion placed an arm on his shoulder and said, "Let's withdraw for now."
"You're not getting away!" Dad exclaimed.
Suddenly, a Weezing floated down from the top, and blew thick smoke from its three heads. What seemed to be a clear view one second ago soon turned into a black smoke. The pungent odor filled my lungs, and stopped my breath at once. The odor was strong enough to bring tears out of my eyes. I tried to cough the air out of my lungs.
Luckily the smoke slowly cleared out thanks to the wind, and fresh air started to fill my lungs, giving me a feeling that I was back from dead into the living.
Unsurprisingly, the hooligans were no longer where they were standing a few seconds ago.
"Damn they got away!" I punched my fist against the damp grass. I shouldn't forget to wash my hands before eating,
"It doesn't matter," Dad said. "As long as they're after Zapdos, we can't lose to them."
Their target is Zapdos, but if we manage to protect Zapdos and hand it over to the police, then—
"Let's get to Zapdos," I said. My old man nodded at this.
Zapdos wasn't so hard to spot. It was a large Pokémon to begin with. Despite being a bird, it was as tall as my Dad.
Both of us hid behind the nearby trees, and peeped at the Pokémon. The huge Pokémon squat on the soft grass, while rubbing its injured wing against the trunk of a nearby tree. I don't know if something like that could heal him or not, but it seems Zapdos liked doing that.
There weren't any other Pokémon around. All of them were scared to wits, just by looking at the monstrous legendary.
"How do we save Zapdos?" I asked. There weren't many options. Maybe Dad would suggest using Zapdos as bait to lure—
"Pidgeooot!"
A cry interrupted our thoughts. The familiar orange bird stood in the air above Zapdos, a hostile look in its eyes.
"Ash, your Pokémon will ruin this!" Dad hissed.
I immediately jumped into action. "Pidgeot don't—"
It was too late. Pidgeot performed a powerful flap with its long wings, and created a powerful windstorm, that blew me off the range.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu screamed as he noticed me getting blown away by the wind. Both Unefezant and Pikachu joined the fray, but instead of attacking Zapdos, they approached me.
"I'm alright," I said as they landed beside me. Our plan's ruined. I glanced at Zapdos, wondering how the Pokémon was reacting.
It wasn't positive, just as I thought. The Pokémon let out an arcane cry that put a hole in my eardrums and stopped my heart momentarily.
Using its two feet, it charged at us.
"Quick Attack!" I commanded no one in general.
Three super speed attacks dashed at once, and struck Zapdos in three directions. The Quick Attack was from Unefezant, Pidgeot and Pikachu.
The legendary Pokémon, despite its stature was thrown away, only to strike a tree behind, before slumping down.
"Change of plans, Ash," Dad ordered. "Weaken Zapdos as much as you can. If we can't beat it now, we won't be able to save it."
But that's too much. It's not helping. And yet—
Even I couldn't find another way out.
Taking a firm pose behind my four Pokémon, I decided to do the lesser of two evils. Battle the injured Zapdos, and then save it. Besides, if we can't stop a berserk legendary, what chance do I have against Tobias? With a new determination in my blood, I sent out the next commands with zeal, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt—Unefezant, Air Slash—Pidgeot, Hurricane!"
Pikachu was the first one to respond, he let out his signature Thunderbolt. At the same time Unefezant prepared spheres of cutting wind and sent the Air Slash at Zapdos, while Pidgeot used the extremely powerful Hurricane.
Much to our surprise, Zapdos sprinted away from the three attacks aimed at it. In Zapdos's place, the tree behind it was severely battered by the combined force of the three attacks.
I didn't realize it till now. I thought Zapdos solely relied on its wings for movement. But unlike Pidgeot or any of my bird Pokémon, Zapdos could actually use its two legs for running like a normal Pokémon.
Once safely out of the damage zone, Zapdos immediately retorted by sending a powerful Thunder. However, it was still raining. Zapdos might be strong but could it beat a power-upped Hydro Pump?
Pushing the doubt away I commanded, "Buizel, Hydro Pump!"
Buizel lunged to the frontlines with swift swim boosted speed, and shot a powerful Hydro Pump.
It was time to see how strong Buizel's Hydro Pump was or so I thought but—
"Don't get cocky!" I hear Dad complaining from behind.
The Hydro Pump and Thunder met each other, but what happened next wasn't a measure of the strengths of the two Pokémon, instead it was a measure of my foolishness.
The Thunder passed through the water, owing to the water's conduction levels. And in extension—
"Buizel!" I realized it too late.
Buizel's body convulsed with shock. The attack rendered him immobile, and prevented him from dodging the attack. The Hydro pump disappeared as the user fainted right in midst of the attack.
Having noticed that the opponent was done for, Zapdos stopped the attack.
Buizel, its skin now partially charred black, collapsed on the ground like a lifeless doll.
"Stupid Idiot!" Dad smacked me on the head with more force than usual, as I watched my Pokémon aghast. "Get it into the Pokéball."
Snapping out of the shock, I took the ball and immediately turned Buizel back in. The damage done was too much.
"This is what I don't like about you!" Dad scolded. "Why the heck do you get cocky just because you learned a new move?"
My mind was blank. What the heck did I just do? Buizel had to suffer that super-effective Thunder because of my mistake. I shifted my attention to the legendary bird. I'm going to make that Zapdos pay for this. I'm going to—
"Boldore, I choose you!" I'm going to defeat it.
"Don't be rash," Dad warned from behind. "Zapdos acted on self-defense."
I understand that. I'm going to redirect the anger on those poachers. But I need to defeat Zapdos first.
"Boldore, Rock Blast!"
The ore Pokémon, firmly planted itself on the ground with its three legs, and shot the barrage of Rock type moves from the red crystal part.
Zapdos was taken in by surprise, the first Rock Blast hit straight on its face, but before the second one hit, Zapdos protected itself with its left wing. The left wing took the multiple hitting move for the Zapdos.
Although Zapdos shielded well enough from the Rock Blast, the move had significant effect on the Pokémon. The Pokémon couldn't even properly hold itself straight, and stooped to fall down, but somehow clutched itself back to consciousness.
"All you've to do is knock it out," Dad said. He was making sure, I didn't go out of control. "Then we'll take it back to Viridian."
"Okay," I said. We're pretty close. Zapdos was worn out from all that damage. Just a little bit. Hang in there, everyone.
"Let's finish it this time," I announced. The faster we are, the lesser would be Zapdos's suffering. "Boldore, one last time. Rock Blast!"
Boldore once again prepared to use the multi-hitting move. However I didn't consider what Zapdos was capable of at that moment.
Realizing the imminent loss, Zapdos made a last ditch effort. It performed a last minute attack, putting every last spark of its electricity in it.
The place where Zapdos stood was enveloped in a bright lightning. I covered my eyes with my hand, as the light grew larger, and finally Zapdos let out the most powerful electric Discharge out of its body.
The attack wasn't something spectacular, but the power the Pokémon possessed definitely was. As the light brightened and transformed into electric energy, I heard multiple cries of panic from my Pokémon.
Something held my shirt and yanked me right down to the ground. I heard something pass above me. It was electricity. Despite my eyes closed, I realized the whole place was haywire with the discharging electricity.
With extreme difficulty, and high curiosity, I tried opening my eyes, and spotted Boldore use a Flash Canon to protect itself, while Pikachu and the two birds were not even in the scene.
The flash finally ended, and everything seemed to get a lot dimmer than usual. It was a side-effect from watching such a bright light. I closed my eyes, expecting that my eyes would adjust faster if I close them.
After I opened my eyes, I noticed that the whole area was burnt black. What used to be a patch of green grass, with grand trees that blocked the sunlight around, turned into a black mass of charcoal and half-burnt trees.
The rain disappeared, and the dark clouds slowly left the sky, bringing the sunshine back to light the forest.
I couldn't comprehend the sudden changes in the events. But I made a good guess that Zapdos's electricity had something to do with the rain. Speaking of which—
Except for Boldore, there was nothing in front of us.
"Are you okay?" Dad asked. I noticed my Dad was beside me. The both of us were on the moist ground, and Dad's left hand was on my hood. He saved me from extreme electrocution. I was thunderbolt-ed more than once, but I wonder if I could take a Thunder like that and breathe.
"Yes," I said, releasing the breath I had been holding. "Boldore, are you okay?" I asked the Ore Pokémon.
The Pokémon turned back and nodded. He was tired, but he protected his life with that Flash Canon of his. "Good Job," I said.
Two familiar chirps were heard. Both Pidgeot and Unefezant appeared from behind the trees that were charred black. They used the trees as a protection it seems. Adding to my relief, I spotted Pikachu sitting on Pidgeot.
"You're all safe?" I asked. The Pokémon nodded in unison.
"But that damn bird got away," Dad sighed. He was visibly frustrated. "We made it an easier target for the poachers."
The shock from the recent events made it hard to stand for me. I was too close to harm than comfortable.
"We should search for it," I said. My heart was still beating fast, but it's slowly getting steadier.
"An aerial survey is impossible," Dad crossed out the first option that was still forming in my mind. "The forest's too dense for that." Zapdos purposefully chose this area, so that it could avoid getting spotted. Now that it's on the move, Zapdos was impossible to find. We only had one perfect chance, and it was ruined.
"We gotta try whatever we can," I said and turned to my Pokémon. There has to be something to do. If only I were more familiar with this place. It's been five years, and I barely—
"Hey, I know!" I hit my fist against my palm. "There's a guy who can help me. Pidgeot, I bet you know where he lives."
"I don't remember you," said the guy in a samurai dress, ironically he calls himself Samurai.
"Aw, come on," Ash cajoled. "We met here about five years ago. You even had a battle with me."
Ash looked at the guy of his age, with expectant eyes. But the Samurai simply raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"
Ash exchanged a glance with Alex and turned back to the samurai. The Samurai said, "How the heck do you expect me to remember someone from five years ago? Hundreds of trainers pass though this damn place. You expect me to remember everyone?"
"But we battled that day," Ash said in a pleading tone. "I'm from Pallet. You said you like to battle trainers from Pallet."
"When I said hundreds of trainers pass through this place," the Samurai was still far from recollecting Ash. "I also happen to mean that I battle hundreds of trainers every day."
Ash scratched his hair, unable to find a way to explain the boy. Alex believed this Samurai kid was a lost cause.
"Look," Ash tried explaining once more. "We had this Metapod versus Metapod fight, then a Beedrill took away my Metapod, then it evolved into a Butterfree. Do you remember me now? Ash Ketchum, does it ring a bell?"
The Samurai's face slowly changed colors. From an expressionless one to someone who just recollected something. "It did," the Samurai nodded and then said casually, "You're that incompetent Pallet Trainer. I'm surprised you're still in the training circuit."
"Heh," Ash scoffed. "I guess you don't know how much of a great trainer I've become."
"You haven't changed much," the Samurai scratched his chin. "If you've come all the way here to just gloat on my face," he turned around. "Goodbye," he waved to Ash and proceeded into the cabin.
"Wait!" Ash stopped him. "There's actually something important I want to tell you."
Zapdos was barely conscious. It had let out the final spark inside itself, and had no energy to flight. So basically it was now an electric-flying legendary that could neither fly nor use an electric move. The only strength it was left now existed in its legs, which the Pokémon used for hiding from the humans.
Those humans were annoying. They were giving it far more trouble than its pride accepted. Without a doubt, if it were to be spotted again, the game's over.
Thinking so, it rested its right part on the tree and squat on the ground. Zapdos's pride was badly burnt, and it sought revenge. But it didn't have the power to do so. So for now hiding was the best policy.
The Viridian Forest was calm and silent. Even the Beedrill were scared by its presence, and moved in swarms, away from the Pokémon. It liked solitude as it was used to it. It closed its eyes, so that it could rest briefly, and regain some of the lost strength.
No sooner it did so, "Aggron, Head Smash!"
A human's voice rang through Zapdos's sharp ears. Something heavy moved behind the tree, the Pokémon sensed, and moved out of the way, just in time.
The trunk of the tree split into pieces as a thick headed Aggron emerged out of it.
The Zapdos heaved in relief as it successfully dodged the attack. But then something sharp struck Zapdos on the rear. It turned behind and spotted a sharp needle like object pierced on the damaged right wing.
The Pokémon that was already worn out, and was ready to lose consciousness was easily seduced by the tranquillizer. Before it knew Zapdos was sleeping peacefully.
"So this is the only exit to Pewter?" Dad asked. Honestly I didn't realize much difference from before. We were between trees a few minutes ago, and we still were the same.
"Well," the samurai shrugged. It was a yes.
"Are you sure, they'll come this way?" I asked.
"Not my business," the Samurai said. "They came in a van, and they'll have to leave in one."
"The Viridian Police might be alert by now," Dad mused. "This's the only way they would take. I'm positive." So the poachers will surely come this way.
Even though he took his time to recollect my name, Samurai had actually helped us out. I wanted to thank him earnestly. "Well, thanks for—"
"No mention," the Samurai cut me off. "I'm not going to take your thanks because you'll just drag me into this thing. I'm not fond of danger."
"But you're a Samurai," Dad remembered him.
"Yeah, and I also happen to be a bug-type specialist who challenges only beginning trainers and still lose," he said brusquely. "So basically. Goodbye."
What happened to him? This wasn't like him at all. Five years ago, I remember how he challenged me, taught me how important a Pokémon was to a trainer. Was he the same passionate guy from back then, or an impostor who took his place?
"People change," Dad said, noticing the troubled expression on my face. "Not everyone remains the same."
But I won't. I won't ever abandon my goal. At any cost, I'm going to prove myself to the world that I'm the world's—no, the universe's strongest Pokémon Master.
Firstly, I need to save that Zapdos though.
Zapdos found itself in a cage. It absolutely loved freedom. Closed spaces were something it absolutely loathed. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was trapped by the humans in a moving cage. There's no way it could allow this. The bird knew that there was only way out. Break the damn cage open.
With what little space it had, it hit the cage with full force. The cage didn't break magically as it expected, but the entire vehicle shook thanks to the impact.
The vehicle stopped, or in Zapdos's eyes, the moving cage stopped moving. The bird found this to be a success and hit the cage once again. This time, the rods that trapped it were bent slightly. The bird took the encouragement and pushed further, and hit again and again.
"Hey, the birdie's awake!" Andy, the guy whose face was ridden with scars was the first one at the scene.
"What the heck," the other guy, who was still drowsy from his afternoon nap, looked at the charging Zapdos. At this point, the bird broke the cage open, and crashed on the ground with the same momentum.
"Dammit," Andy cursed. "I told you legendaries are out of our scope!" He yelled.
"Shaddup," the other guy snapped. "Do you expect to impress people with the same shit? Be a man, and gear up. We can still recapture it."
All they needed to do was adjust the dose of the tranquilizer. There was some miscalculation.
"Aggron," he sent the Iron Armor Pokémon.
Andy on the other hand, took four Pokéball, "Let's do this, Scizor!"
The four balls tossed, materialized into four of the red mantis Pokémon that stood in an attention position.
Zapdos, having noticed the danger it was in, began its run and dashed into the denser areas that it could fit into.
"The usual drill," Andy called the attention of the four Scizor. "Pursuit, then surround. Aggron will do the rest."
The Scizor nodded, and dashed in the direction the Zapdos went in. The slow Aggron followed them with steady and heavy steps.
Zapdos, despite not flying, was fast, but the ones sent on pursuit were Scizor, which were known for their incredible speed in the forestlands.
As the legendary Pokémon helplessly ran for its freedom using the help of its legs that were never designed for running, the Scizor caught up in no time and surrounded the bird.
The panting bird looked from one Scizor to another. It knew its fate was sealed. But its pride refused to give up. It lunged at the closest Scizor and attempted to strike it with its beak, but the Scizor expertly stepped back, while the rest closed in on the other three directions, threatening to strike it from behind. Realizing its disadvantage Zapdos stopped and glared at the other three.
The Scizor carefully circled the Zapdos, as the legendary desperately searched for an opening in their encirclement. It found none.
"Head Smash!"
The bird arched its neck to the left. The four Scizor moved away in a flash, and in its place, the Aggron came at it. The bird attempted to run to the right, but then a Scizor used a swift Bullet Punch on its face, and pushed the bird back before it could even react. The Aggron, which put a moving truck or even a train to shame, struck it with the most powerful rock type move.
The attack was fatal to Zapdos; it simply couldn't do anything to resist the attack, and ended up flying in the air, before striking a tree behind and slumped to the ground, unconscious.
"Well," Andy shrugged. "I guess we don't even need a tranquilizer. Using that bazooka to cripple its wings was a great decision."
"If it weren't for that Pidgeot and other two Pokémon," the other guy smirked. "We would still be licking for its scent."
"Just to make sure," Andy removed his backpack, and took out something. "Let's use the new Latex ball. What do you say?"
"Fine by me," he said. "But remember, a Latex ball costs a lot more than a cage, so be careful."
Andy laughed at this, "C'mon, its unconscious dude." He turned to the bird Pokémon. "Here we go," he lifted the Pokéball in a dramatic fashion and tossed it at Zapdos.
The ball was aimed perfectly at Zapdos. It could have definitely hit Zapdos, if it weren't for—
"Hurricane!"
A sudden windstorm from the sky knocked the ball out of its track. The said ball changed its course and went somewhere deep into the darkness of the Viridian undergrowth.
"My Latex ball!" Andy screamed. He looked into the sky, only to be startled by a certain young trainer atop his Pidgeot.
"Boldore, Rock Blast!"
Andy and the other poacher were surprised to see another person behind them. This one happened to be an adult.
The ore Pokémon performed its signature Rock Blast at the lineup of Scizor near Zapdos.
"Pikachu Thunderbolt—Unefezant Aerial Ace!"
Right from another direction, two more Pokémon attacked form the sky, the first one was a thunderbolt aimed at Aggron, and the second one was an Aerial Ace that was aimed to further disorient the Scizor formation.
"Damn you trainers," Andy gnashed his teeth. "I'm going to freaking destroy you all." He was mad at the fact that the only Latex ball his company afforded was blown away as if it was a piece of thrash.
Everything was a little chaotic over there. There were more Pokémon than trainers.
I landed on the ground, so that I could let Pidgeot freely battle the Pokémon. Zapdos was pretty close from where I stood, and so was the four Scizor.
On the other hand, Dad and Boldore were closer to the poachers and Aggron. Pikachu and Unefezant landed beside me, to assist me with the four Scizor.
This's gonna be a tough one, but I had Dad on my side. He'd fight an Aggron, and I gave him Gible and Boldore's balls. But still, "Pidgeot, help Dad out. I'll take care of these Scizor." I had an ace in the hole for that. I enlarged my fifth and my last conscious Pokémon's Pokéball. "Tauros, I choose you!"
With that I had three on my line up. Tauros knew Fire Blast, so I had the advantage despite the number. I should be handling more than one Pokémon. Then again, so should my opponent.
"Let's do this!" I glared at the Scizor's trainer, who was shaking with fury.
"Kid," he looked at me with an animalistic rage, on his face. His eyes were wide open, his eye balls were extremely red and seemed like they would pop out anytime. "Scizor, Bullet Punch!"
The four Scizor rushed one after the other, at a dazzling speed to strike my Pokémon.
"Pikachu Quick Attack—Unefezant Aerial Ace—Tauros Double Team!"
Pikachu jumped back as the first Scizor dashed past it, successfully evading the attack and propelled itself to strike the Second Scizor head on.
The third Scizor attempted to hit Unefezant, but the Pokémon disappeared in time, and appeared right behind it, and attempted to strike it from behind. But the Scizor used Bullet Punch's momentum and jumped away from her.
Tauros dodged the fourth attack with its Double Team.
Judging from the moments, I believe these Pokémon might be used to battling on their own. "Let's see…"
I looked around, the first Scizor took an interest to join the fourth and attack Tauros. Unefezant and the third were busy dodging each other. Pikachu was in a close combat with the second one.
"Re-formation!" The poacher announced. The four Scizor broke away from their respective positions and circled us once more.
That's his weakness. He could only command all the Scizor at once, unless he had a nickname for each. These Pokémon don't look like they belonged to him either. There's no way I would lose.
"Scizor," he commanded once more. "Use X-Scissor!"
The four Pokémon began circling around us. If my hunch was correct, I can predict their movements.
"Pikachu jump onto Unefezant, and use Quadruple Thunderbolt!—Unefezant use Air Slash after that—Tauros Fire Blast!"
Unefezant understanding the command dove down as Pikachu jumped onto her.
The Scizor lunged at once. Three of them ignored Pikachu and Unefezant jumping away, while the fourth went to attack the two.
Pikachu let out his much weaker Quadruple Thunderbolt. The Scizor that attacked Pikachu dodged it with ease, but at the same time, Unefezant prepared the Air Slash and struck the Scizor.
All the three Scizor that attacked Tauros dodged the Thunderbolt with ease. Yes it was true that the Scizor were good enough to dodge a multiple thunderbolt, but what if they get hit by a move right after?
As two of the Scizor ducked to escape the Thunderbolt, Tauros used a Fire Blast. The Pokémon no matter how fast they were couldn't dodge that.
The two Scizor were burnt by the fire type move. But using that opportunity, the fourth Scizor attacked Tauros from behind.
Roaring in pain, Tauros turned around, pissed by the Scizor's back attack. Tauros immediately charged upon Scizor and bashed its skull onto the steel type's chest.
"Alright!" I exclaimed. They were down to two Scizor, which were both damaged and outnumbered.
"I hate you trainers," the hunter guy hissed. "Scizor, fall back!"
Meanwhile on Alex's side.
"Gible, Boldore Rock Smash!"
The duo of rock-smashers jumped at Aggron and landed a hit straight on Aggron's face, at the same time.
The fighting type move immensely hurt the steel-rock type. If it weren't for its towering figure, Aggron would probably have landed on the ground.
"Pidgeot," he said. "Use—" he paused. "Um, whatever hits Aggron better." He wasn't sure what Pidgeot's other two moves were. Quick Attack and Hurricane were the only ones he witnessed.
The Pokémon chirped with happiness, and opened its beaks and let out hot waves from its mouth. The hot wind enveloped Aggron, sintering the steel type.
"Heat Wave, huh," Alex was marveled. "Good."
Aggron's trainer however wasn't so happy. "Iron Tail!" He commanded.
The Pokémon, in desperation swung its heavy tail at Pidgeot; however it was only child's play for Pidgeot. "Boldore Rock Smash—Gible, Dig!"
The Pokémon responded quickly, as if he were their trainer. Boldore smacked the Pokémon square on the chest and at the same time Gible attacked from below and toppled the giant Pokémon to the ground.
"Pidgeot," Alex said with finality in his voice. "Heat Wave!"
The battle came to an end.
Aggron and two Scizor were down. I'm pretty sure they have saved the last two Scizor for saving their own skin.
"Unefezant," I warned her. I'm pretty sure they would send Weezing once more to escape. But Unefezant can take care of that for us.
"Let's finish this once for all," I announced. "Pikachu—"
I was stopped by a shallow cry from behind. It was Zapdos.
"It's back to consciousness?" Even Dad was surprised. The Head Smash must have done some serious damage.
The Pokémon struggled to get up onto its feet, but it sent a warning cry to all of us. To be honest, it was scared. One look at the Pokémon and anyone would pity it. It was all because of those selfish poachers. It makes my blood boil.
"Ash," Dad said. "Zapdos is frightened, restrain it. I'll take care of these two."
I nodded. "Pidgeot," I said. "This Zapdos has been troubling your flock, but you should understand that it's not Zapdos's fault. Will you help me?"
Pidgeot hesitated for a second, but nodded.
We approached the frightened legendary. The Pokémon took a step back, while sending another warning cry. I tried to comfort the Pokémon. "Zapdos we—" It cut me off with its cry. Pidgeot hissed in reply, but Zapdos cried back in return, slightly intimidating Pidgeot.
Taking a step forward Zapdos struck Pidgeot with its sharp wings. The Bird Pokémon would've attacked back in return, but it didn't. Instead, it tried to convince the Pokémon.
Zapdos actively refused, and hit Pidgeot with the Drill Peck.
"Pidgeot!" I tried helping the Pokémon. He turned around and gave me a reassuring smile. The seriousness in his eyes was real. I smiled in return, "You can do it, Pidgeot." He wants to convince Zapdos with words not attacks.
It was a tough ride to Pewter City. When both I and Dad came to the city with an unconscious Zapdos with us, the people who saw the scene went crazy. I headed straight to the Pokémon Center, while Dad took the poachers to the police. The final fight was a hard struggle for Dad. Both the poachers used the Scizor as their shield to get away. Luckily Dad knew how to make most out of situations like this.
"It's strange," I said, looking at the Pokémon in the I.C.U. I was in the Pewter Centre. Sitting in a similar position like in Viridian, when Pidgeot was injured earlier this morning.
"What is?" Cilan asked.
Brock helped out the Pewter Nurse, so when he heard we came with a Zapdos in tow, even Cilan joined us.
"Last night, I saved Pidgeot," I said. "And now a Zapdos."
Cilan chuckled at this, "It means you really care for Pokémon. You are wild like a Mankey, and kind like a Blissey."
That really sounded odd, but I ignored it. Most of what Cilan say were odd. "Thanks," I said.
"The Endangered and Mythical Pokémon protection program has announced to fund the expenses for taking care of Zapdos," Cilan said. "I think it'll be fine. Don't you have something else to take care of?"
I realized I forgot something important. "Thanks, Cilan," I shook hands with him and went to the adjacent healing room.
Noticing me coming in, seven creatures got up at once, and greeted me in their respective languages. Unefezant didn't face any injuries, she was simply tired. Pikachu and Tauros took some damage, while Gible and Boldore suffered decent damage from the Scizor when Dad tried to stop the poachers. Both of them were awesome. Tauros had a nasty bump on his rear, and was not happy with it. Buizel was severely damaged earlier, but he was recovering now. Lastly,
Pidgeot. He really deserved the credit for convincing Zapdos back. I'm really proud to have such a Pokémon, but alas, he couldn't return with me. Those Pidgey and Pidgeotto really need him.
"I wish you could come back with me," I said. Pidgeot hung its head in shame at this. He knows it too. He couldn't just come back with me. Even if he were to leave the Pidgeotto and Pidgey alone, he would constantly be worried for them, and can't even train properly. I can't take him when half his heart was somewhere else.
"I wish I could hold that promise," I muttered. "And take you back."
I could feel sorrow welling up in my heart, and catch my throat. I shouldn't cry. I'm not a kid anymore. Looking at Pidgeot, I realized he was doing the same.
We were both fighting back tears, and it somehow made me laugh.
About an hour later.
It was five in the evening. Dad returned and informed us the good news. The police arrested the poachers and put them away for good. We even got a cash prize for the effort.
The Nurse told it would take more time for Buizel to heal, so we had to wait till nightfall. Dad said, it would be great if we set for Mt. Moon in the night, after the dinner.
But after that, we all had to come outside when the annoying flutters from a certain flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto called us.
"It's time to say goodbye," I said to Pidgeot. We assembled in the Pokémon Center's battlefield. The uncountable number of Pidgey and Pidgeotto watched eagerly as I gave Pidgeot one final hug. The wonderful part? Both of us successfully held back the tears. We were real men, according to Dad's definition I suppose.
Pidgeot glanced at the distant Unefezant. There was a gleam of determination in his eyes as he watched her. He walked to the plants that Nurse Joy raised in the field, and proceeded to pluck a couple of flowers.
"Hey, what are you doing?" I yelled. Plucking from someone else's backyard wasn't good manners. In fact our neighbor got pissed when Mr. Mime did that. Mom had to buy him a bouquet in exchange.
"It's okay," Nurse Joy, however, was kind, unlike my grumpy neighbor.
Pidgeot took the flowers it picked and flapped towards Unefezant, who stood at a distance, as if she had nothing to do with us.
When Unefezant didn't even bother to look at him, he gently dropped the flowers at her feet, and turned around silently. I gave him a smile of encouragement. Pidgeot then chirped something to the flock and turned around to leave.
The Pidgey and Pidgeotto were riled up, ready to follow the leader into the sky, and head back to the forest. It pains my heart that I had to part with Pidgeot again. He looked at me for one last time, and took flight, followed by the flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto.
However, a group of five Pidgeotto didn't move for some reason. Pidgeot halted and asked in what seemed like a 'Hey, What's wrong?' in Pidgeotese.
The five Pidgeotto exchanged glances and then at once—
A blinding light flashed into our eyes at once.
Everyone around were surprised by the sudden light. The source of the light, the five Pidgeotto slowly grew in shape. The small red mane grew into a long orange, the talons that were as large as my hands grew many times in size. Over all, the birds that barely reached my knees suddenly grew into something as tall as me. The blinding light disappeared when five similar cries were heard in unison.
"T-They evolved," Dad played Captain Obvious.
"Y-Yeah," for some reason even I was speechless. "Wait a minute," I glanced at Pidgeot, realizing what this meant. Apparently he had the same thing in mind. We're totally in sync today.
What seemed to be hidden till then came out. Both Pidgeot and I lunged at each other and ended up crying in each other's arms, or in Pidgeot's case wings.
This caused everyone around to laugh, in happiness. Except for Dad of course.
"Eh," Dad sighed. "True men don't cry but," he seemed to be lenient this time. "Whatever."
And that's how what began as a farewell between me and Pidgeot ended up into a farewell between him and the Pidgey, Pidgeotto and the five newly evolved Pidgeot. The Pidgey flock had more protection now, and didn't need my Pidgeot anymore.
"Thank you," I said to the five Pidgeot as they departed. "You guys are really cool. I know you're gonna miss my Pidgeot, but don't worry, he'll be visiting you guys. It's a promise," I said giving the largest of them a hand-and-wing shake.
Pidgeot on the other hand was chirping something to the younger ones, like a responsible adult Pokémon. The Pidgey chirped in return.
The group gave a combined cry for Pidgeot in honor, and finally dispersed. The flock which stood with us a few seconds ago was now distant dots in the orange sky, as the sun set to his sleep.
Once the flock was long gone, Pidgeot turned towards me and the rest of the team. The two of us were happy with the turn of events.
I gave him my signature smirk. "Pidgeot, welcome back to the team." I announced. Boldore, Gible, Pikachu, Tauros cried a welcome in unison.
"I'm expecting great things from you Pidgeot," Dad winked, pointing his thumb in the direction where Unefezant stood.
To Pidgeot's and my surprise, the flowers that Pidgeot left on the ground were in Unefezant's beak. But when she realized Pidgeot was staring at her, she immediately dropped the flowers and flew away.
"Hey Unefezant, where're you going?" I yelled, but the bird didn't turn back even once.
It wasn't until dinner that Unefezant returned. But when she did, I had to make Pidgeot apologize for her.
Days moved fast after that.
As promised, in Pewter City, I had to rotate my team for a fresh bunch. We trained for three days at the foot of Mt. Moon. We could have explored the inside and got to Cerulean from there, but Dad said it was better if we visit the other side of Mt. Moon later. I actually wanted to meet Misty, but oh well. I'll apologize to her later.
October 8th, when I came back to Pewter, I called Max. I was told he already left for his journey throughout Hoenn. Unlike me, he was on time, and picked a Treecko.
May told they were an incredible pair.
Cilan invited us to the opening of the Sommelier fair at Pewter. He tasted a couple of Pokémon of mine, as a demonstration. The people immediately fell in love with the foreign concept. About twenty five people enrolled as Sommelier trainees.
Forrest took a liking to my Boldore and asked to trade Boldore for a day. Upon Dad's suggestion, I traded his Graveler to my Boldore for a gym battle. To my surprise, both of them evolved right after that. My old man surprised me once again; he apparently knew Boldore and Graveler evolve when traded. I pitted Golem against Forrest who used Gigalith, and I ended up losing. I wasn't sure, if I should be happy or not. After the battle, we traded our Pokémon back.
October 12th, after three days of training in Viridian Forest, I came back to Viridian City. I heard Mom called us for about seven times. Despite Mom's warning to call every day, both of us forgot about it.
We returned back to Pallet by 15th. We spent the next whole week at home. Dad taught me about move rotation system in that time.
Move rotation's basically simple. Every Pokémon has a specific set of four moves that it could use in a battle. Trainers, who know about this limitation, use the data normally available in the League Database and try countermeasures against the specific move-set. So, instead of one set of moves, it's preferred to teach every Pokémon more than one set.
It was a hard thing to do, and took most of our time. I had to constantly re-teach old moves, and train them how to use it again.
For example, I taught Pikachu a set of Agility, Thunderbolt, Iron Tail and Electro ball. Dad told Electro ball gets stronger the faster it get and matches with Agility. The other set it had was Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Iron Tail and Volt Tackle.
It was on 22nd that we decided to set to Seafoam islands, where one of the most important events was going to be held. After spending some time training in the nearby islands we reached Seafoam on 24th.
Both Dad and I couldn't sleep on October 24th. We're going to meet the Elite Four and Champions from all regions, the next day. Just thinking about that made me go bonkers like Barry.
There won't be anything related to battle, but it would still be an honor to meet them all. I was too excited.
The fated day was Tomorrow.
Next Chapter: The Elite Battler's Conference! Meet the stars of the Pokémon World!
A/N: Charizard, Squirtle and few other Pokémon haven't returned yet. But, the time skips continue to hit on us, it won't be not long before we see them all back again.
A lot of evolutions won't be revealed on-screen like I did with Boldore. I know it's kinda nasty to put evolutions off-screen, but evolutions are so cliché. They generally happen when the Pokémon fall in deep trouble, and had to evolve to overcome the trouble. I won't touch all but a few of them. I won't guarantee that all Pokémon will evolve. But most of them will, I think so.
We're about a couple chapters away from the world League after a major time skip. Get ready people!
Now, this is just a casual question, and has no relevancy to the plot but
1. What's your favorite theme song (excluding the OS's title song). I know that the original title song is everyone's favorite, so it's boring to see the same answer. So what other opening song do you like in Pokémon? (You can include Japanese songs in your answers too. I like them more!)
The second question has more relevance to the plot.
2. Do you want me to start the world tournament pretty quickly by skipping (speeding through) a couple of training/re-union episodes, or do you want to wait and have more chapters of build-up before the actual tournament?
Do answer the second question through the review box below. You needn't have an account to post a review.
3.This chapter happens to be a long one, and had 11,000+ word count. Did you feel this tiresome to read? Or was it good enough for you to not notice the enormous word count? The stand word count seems to be 3,000 from what I've read.
Lastly, for you authors who lack reviews, or want more of them, I have a wonderful place for you. It is a forum I have created!
Just go to forum/You-review-mine-I-will-review-yours/125643/ - Do note this is not the complete link. Just fill in first part and add a \ before the forum part